John Calvin Commentary Psalms 102:19

"For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;" — Psalms 102:19 (ASV)

For he hath looked down from the high place of his holiness. Now the prophet contemplates the deliverance for which he longs anxiously, as if it had already been accomplished. So that the malice of men might not attempt to obscure such a remarkable blessing from Heaven, he openly and in express terms claims for God His rightful praise; and the people were compelled in many ways to acknowledge the divine hand in it.

Long before they were dragged into captivity, this calamity had been foretold, so that when it took place the judgment of God might be clearly revealed; at the same time, deliverance had also been promised them, with the time specified as after seventy years. Therefore, the ingratitude of men could not attribute their return to any other cause than the mere goodness of God.

Accordingly, it is said that God looked down from heaven, so that the Jews might not attribute to the grace and favor of Cyrus the deliverance which clearly came from Heaven. The high place of His holiness or sanctuary is here equivalent to heaven. As the temple, in some parts of Scripture (Psalms 26:8 and Psalm 76:2), is called “the habitation of God” in relation to men, so also, He assigns to Himself a dwelling-place in heaven, so that we may not imagine that there is anything earthly in God—not because He is confined there, but so that we may seek Him above the world.

He has appointed the moon to distinguish seasons. The Psalmist now comes to another commendation of God’s providence, shown in the beautiful arrangement by which the courses of the sun and moon alternately follow each other. For the diversity in their mutual changes is so far from producing confusion that all can easily perceive that it is impossible to find a better method for distinguishing time.

When it is said that the moon was appointed to distinguish seasons, interpreters agree that this refers to the ordinary and appointed feasts. Since the Hebrews were accustomed to compute their months by the moon, this served to regulate their festival days and assemblies, both sacred and political.

The prophet, I have no doubt, using the figure of synecdoche, puts a part for the whole, suggesting that the moon not only distinguishes the days from the nights, but also marks out the festival days, measures years and months, and, in short, serves many useful purposes, since the distinction of times is taken from her course.

As for the sentence, The sun knows his going down, I understand it to refer not only to his daily circuit. It also denotes that by gradually approaching nearer to us at one time, and receding farther from us at another, he knows how to regulate his movements to create summer, winter, spring, and autumn.

It is further stated, that the beasts of the forest creep forth during the night, because they go out of their dens with fear. Some translate the verb רמש, ramas, as “to walk”; but its proper meaning, which I have given, is quite suitable. For although hunger often drives wild beasts into a fury, yet they watch for the darkness of the night so that they may move about from their hiding-places, and because of this fearfulness they are said to creep forth.